zflash, what shop did you take it to? Here in Houston?

 

Hey guys sorry to get back to you so late, just getting off work at 10:00 pm. I'll try to answer ya'lls ???'s and thanks again for your input. In my opinion it doesn't ride too bad, but I was wanting a little smoother ride.I was wanting to tighten up the the front bars and go with Fatman drop spindles to get a smoother ride in front. In the back it looks like the PO just switched the springs to lower it and it keeps hitting the bump stops. I was wanting to do a IRS or 4 link drop with tubs. The shop it's at right now is Bumbera's in Katy, I'm not mechanically incline so the work will be done by some else. It's not going to be a DD,but I do plan on driving it quit a bit. You know I had a lot of screw ups with my Vette when building it, so I'm trying to eliminate those early here.I found out about all these forums a little late on that one, but hopefully not on the truck.Thanks, ZFLASH

 

Hey Zflash,
The independent rear suspension can be pretty straight forward -
If you would post a pic or tell us what you have back there I'm sure folks can offer up some thoughts. What gears do you have in the back? 9 inch axle? etc. The back you should be able to get squared away quickly & fairly reasonably. A 4 link with a sway bar will get you a long way toward a nice IRS - not sure tubbing the bed is necessary unless you just need that ride height.

The front end can be pretty involved - why not run down to your shop some time this week & send some pics of what they think is "crap" & see what the concensus is here. I have a mustang II front end - I'm not blown away by how smooth it is - it still drives & feels like a truck not
very car like. I do like having disc brakes all the way around.

Good luck over there.

Ben in Austin

 

Thanks Ben, that's why I love this forum. Yes I just got taken for a little $$ trying to up grade my brakes, that's why I'm a little frustrated with this issue. The back does seem straight forward and I want the tubs for the stance and monster wheels w/a nice lip. I'm putting off golf to head over there tomorrow, I'll try to get pics then. L8R ZFLASH

 

Hey Zflash,
I put a 2001 Explorer rear end on mine - came with an 8.8 inch axle & a nice set of rear disc brakes. $125 at the salvage yard & minimal welding to move the shock perches & a brace. It doesn't feel as nice as a 4 link but it's not bad - had the springs flipped to get it lower in the back.

Take a pic of the rear differential if you get a chance - the guys on here
can tell what you have from that - it's pretty remarkable. If you can get any of the markings on there it will help with ID as well.

The front suspension - pics showing where how they attached it to the frame & steering would be nice. Good luck - tomorrow is looking pretty nice - not many days like this in Jan. - Golf would be good.

Ben in Austin

 

The Volare suspension provides one of the smoothest rides of any of the front suspension alternatives. In fact, it can be almost mushy if the torsion bars are not adjusted correctly. That's why I like it. I know some on here like their trucks to ride like a truck but I prefer a smooth ride like a car. I'd suggest you have the T-bars adjusted and see if you can get it riding smoother before going to something else that may provide an even harsher ride...

 

Thanks for info, just got back from the shop and we're going to leave it for now. They're going to take some pics for you guys and e-mail them to me, then I'll post them. The problem they say is that the cut and weld the PO did was a pretty shabby job, they're going to try and correct some of the issues and see if it helps. I agree with you about the ride, I'm looking for something similar to what your saying. I know this question was asked many times and answered, but the search I did wasn't very helpful. I went through a lot of post looking for answers and ya'll helped a bunch. The only frame swapping I'll be doing is in the future, getting one of the new replacement frames that are made for or trucks . Thanks again, L8R ZFLASH